Living Cave/Living Water Program @ Grand Caverns

BRD likes what some good folks are doing at Grand Caverns RP.

Water Quality Science(!) Education what a good idea!

Go Visit Living Cave/Living Water Program @ Grand Caverns

Goodlatte & Valley Water Quality

DNR Online.com

May 21, 2007

Bay Bill Too Costly, Congressman Says

By Tom Mitchell

HARRISONBURG — The former chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture says that despite regional support, legislation aimed at increasing federal funding for the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay faces an uphill fight.

U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-6th, says the measure has the backing of several members in both the House and Senate. But the conservation plan known as Chesapeake’s Healthy and Environmentally Sound Stewardship of Energy and Agriculture Act of 2007, or CHESSEA, is too costly and lacks the broad support it needs to pass as part of the 2007 Farm Bill, Goodlatte said.

"Unfortunately, [CHESSEA] is extra expensive," said Goodlatte, who does not support the proposal. "The last time I looked at that bill, not a single member of Congress outside the Bay region had co-sponsored it."

Full Article

A year later ... what's the plan now?

Water Quality - Shenandoah Watershed Data

For my fellow "digit-heads" ... Visit this interesting site to get REAL DATA for tributaries of the Shenandoah River

Water Window @ JMU CISAT

The issue of environmental impact, on this critical watershed, will be an issue that many will raise in the HR race in the 6th District.

What is Rep. Goodlatte doing to support on-going science and mitigation efforts of NPS pollutants? H.R. 1766: Chesapeake's Healthy and Environmentally Sound Stewardship of Energy and Agriculture Act of 2007 ?

BRD is looking forward to hearing more from Sam Rasoul, too.



BlueRidgeData will be listening , watching... and analyzing the political data.
"... click, clack goes the HP calculator..."

MLK Last Speech - In Remembrance

Measuring Change ... 40 years later... political change is all about the journey, not the end goal.

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.

All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)

McCain's Fund Raising Data - March 2008

April 3, 2008

Posted: 04:03 PM ET

McCain’s fundraising totals trail those of both his potential opponents.

(CNN) — A senior McCain adviser tells CNN that the campaign’s March fundraising numbers will be “better than they usually are for us, but not competitive with Obama.”

McCain spent much of his time in March raising money. His schedule was largely dictated by fundraisers all over the country. With the exception of his week abroad, McCain on average held a fundraiser a day, and sometimes two.

In February, McCain raised $11 million dollars, far less than Barack Obama’s $55 million, and Hillary Clinton’s $35 million.

Campaign spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker also tells CNN McCain raised more in March than February, but said they won’t release the figure until later this month.

Trying to look on the bright side, the senior McCain adviser said that although the campaign behind others in fundraising, starting late last month the Republican National Committee has been able to raise money through a victory fund, which can directly benefit the campaign. The RNC can raise up to $28,500 per person, as opposed to just $2300 per person for an individual campaign.

There have been several newspaper reports this week about McCain’s fundraising troubles, attributed to lack of enthusiasm from some of President Bush’s high roller donors, and overall fundraising fatigue.

CNN asked McCain on his bus Wednesday about those reports, and he said he was “puzzled” by them.

“Ever major fundraiser, and we could I guess provide you a list, that I know of that I have called and that Rudy [Giuliani] has called and that Mitt [Romney] has called has called to say fine, I am with you, “ said McCain.

“Our fundraising, our fundraisers have dramatically increased so I don’t know where all of that comes from to be honest with you,” he said

–CNN's Dana Bash

Clinton Fund Raising Data - March 2008

April 03, 2008 3:20 PM

ABC's Kate Snow and Sunlen Miller Report: The Clinton campaign reports raising $20 million for the month of March, ABCNews has learned -- about half of what the Obama campaign says it raised that month.

The Clinton campaign will not officially announce its figure until the Federal Election Commission deadline of April 20th.

But the Obama campaign says it raised over $40 million from 442,000 contributors in the month of March.

"Senator Obama has always said that this campaign would rise or fall on the willingness of the American people to become partners in an effort to change our politics and start a new chapter in our history," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said.

The Obama camp also claims that more than 218,000 of those donors were first-time contributors, giving an average of $96 per donor.

On a conference call with reporters earlier today, Clinton campaign Communications Director Howard Wolfson downplayed the fundraising gap.

"We knew he was going to outraise us. He has for the last several months," Wolfson said.

Wolfson insisted -- as the campaign has repeatedly said-- that Clinton has enough money to be competitive and successful moving forward.

The Clinton campaign has said Obama was outspending them by 4 to 1 on television ads in Pennsylvania and will probably continue to outspend them by about 2 to 1 between now and primary day in the keystone state.

"He outspent us 2 to 1 in Ohio and Texas, but we were able to win. We expect to be successful going forward despite being outspent. Both campaigns are raising a lot of funds. We are both outraising McCain," Wolfson said.

Campaign insiders did not want to reveal details about the amount of debt Clinton might be carrying at the moment. In February, the campaign reported holding nearly $9 million in debts. It was recently reported that debt included her own alma mater -- Park Ridge High School -- where she had held a campaign event. When news of that debt was reported, the debt was immediately paid. Campaign officials said many of the debts owed in February have since been cleared off the books, but they acknowledged that there are new unpaid invoices for March.

In a campaign email solicitation sent out over the weekend, former President Bill Clinton encouraged contributions by pointing out that the media and others would be quick to judge his wife's financial health.

"Our opponents and the media will scrutinize our fundraising reports and look for any sign of weakness," Bill Clinton wrote to supporters. He then asked them to donate.

"Even as little as $5 can make a difference," he said.

Obama Fund Raising Data - March 2008

Source: barackobama.com
April 03, 2008

Chicago, IL - Senator Barack Obama's campaign announced today that more than 442,000 contributors across the country gave more than $40 million in March. More than 218,000 donors contributed to the campaign for the first time, and the average contribution level was $96.

"Senator Obama has always said that this campaign would rise or fall on the willingness of the American people to become partners in an effort to change our politics and start a new chapter in our history," campaign manager David Plouffe said. "Today we're seeing the American people's extraordinary desire to change Washington, as tens of thousands of new contributors joined the more than a million Americans who have already taken ownership of this campaign for change. Many of our contributors are volunteering for the campaign, making our campaign the largest grassroots army in recent political history."

March Fundraising by the Numbers

Total Raised in March: More than $40 million

Contributors in March: More than 442,000

First-Time Contributors in March: More than 218,000

Average Contribution: $96

Total Contributors to Date: More than 1,276,000

National Debt - Your Share?

Current Total National Debt: $52.7 trillion 

Per person: $175,000

Per full-time worker: $410,000

Per household: $455,000 

Source: GAO analysis.

This is the accessible text file for CG Presentation number GAO-08-
501CG entitled 'Saving Our Future Requires Tough Choices Today' which
was released on February 11, 2008.
United States Government Accountability Office
Saving Our Future Requires Tough Choices Today:
The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
February 6, 2008
The Honorable David M. Walker:
Comptroller General of the United States

GAO - Warnings about National Debt =$50 Trillion!

All Things Considered, (NPR) November 18, 2007 ·

While politicians in Washington, D.C., get their dukes up over spending bills, some policy analysts are taking the long view on the federal budget, and hoping you will, too.

According to the Government Accountability Office, the national debt — plus the obligations the federal government has promised to pay out in the future — equals $50 trillion.

To drive home how large that amount of money is, policy analysts packed up their PowerPoint presentations and hit the road, visiting lecture halls across the country to explain the breakdown of the federal budget. It's the Fiscal Wake-Up Tour, featuring policy experts from across the political spectrum.

The opening act is Robert Bixby of the financially conservative Concord Coalition. Also on board: Stuart Butler of the conservative Heritage Foundation; Douglas Elmendorf, from the left-leaning Brookings Institution; and David Walker, the Comptroller general of the United States.

The alarm the tour has spread across dozens of states in the past two years is this: If the federal Government continues its current course in the coming years the country will go deep into the red.

What's the biggest problem? Among these experts, it's Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security — the promised future benefits for retirees and the poor and sick.

Controller David Walker says the government is spending every penny it takes in right now in Social Security taxes, and not saving the surplus to pay for actual benefits later. The rapid rise in health care costs is an even bigger problem, shooting up by more than 6 percent a year.

The Fiscal Wake-Up Tour is long on problems and short on solutions. That's by design. These budget experts have different ideas and opinions about how to solve the problem. But they agree that it is more important at this point to raise the alarm than it is to champion any one fix.

The Fiscal Wake-Up Tour is ramping up its schedule in the coming months, trying to crowbar budget issues into the agendas of the presidential candidates. If they can get regular Americans to think about the budget, and start asking politicians for a solution, these budget experts will be satisfied.

Iraq War 2007 -- Our Share in VA-6?

SOURCE: http://www.nationalpriorities.org/

Taxpayers in Congressional District 6 (Goodlatte) will have paid $260 million for the cost of the Iraq War in FY 2007.

If your interested in taking care of folks here in our Valley... for the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:

72,066 People with Health Care OR

214,580 Homes with Renewable Electricity OR

5,930 Public Safety Officers OR

3,789 Music and Arts Teachers OR

35,274 Scholarships for University Students OR

23 New Elementary Schools OR

1,696 Affordable Housing Units OR

129,721 Children with Health Care OR

36,026 Head Start Places for Children OR

3,926 Elementary School Teachers

Next up we'll look at our share of the National Debt. Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later?

Where Your Federal Taxes Dollars Go? Pie Chart 2007

Where Your Federal Taxes Dollars Go?

In 2007, for every $10,000 paid in Federal taxes:

$2,700
goes to military
$1,900
goes to interest on the debt
$2,000
goes to health care
$600
goes to income security
$450
goes to education
$330
goes to benefits for veterans
$260
goes to nutrition spending
$180
goes to housing
$150
goes to environmental protection
$20
goes to job training
$1,240
goes to all other expenses

Source: Breakdown of income taxes is based on Budget of the United States Government, 2007